To tackle issues with problematic and harmful content on the platform, Kick has finally decided to sharpen their community guidelines and introduced two new categories, to help moderate high-risk streams.
The live-streaming platform Kick has managed to bring several big streamers on board and is competing with Twitch. But for some reason, the platform always seems to attract scandals and extreme content. Because of that, they have often been criticized for their guidelines being too soft and for lacking good moderation. But now, Kick has introduced two new categories, and have updated community guidelines to tackle their moderation of "high-risk streams".
Kick Adds Two New Categories And Sharpens Community Guidelines
In an effort to improve our moderation and discoverability, we are launching IRL and Chat Roulette categories! Please click the link below for our updated guidelines for these categories pic.twitter.com/ZUPad53PGD
— Kick Support (@KickSupport) June 23, 2024
Here's a breakdown of the key updates and what they mean for creators and users.
The new guidelines are meant to encourage constructive dialogue over 'cancel culture,' they want their creators to focus on their content and avoid weaponizing their communities against each other, which has been an issue with Kick streamers for quite some time.
To ensure a respectful and safe space, Kick has banned nudity and sexually explicit material, allowing only suggestive content within tasteful limits. Protection of minors is also a top priority, with strict age restrictions and zero tolerance for child exploitation or inappropriate behavior towards minors.
To maintain the integrity of content, Kick prohibits spreading false narratives, misleading headlines, and doxxing—sharing personal information without consent. The guidelines also ban the use of bots for metric inflation, view botting and impersonation.
The platform has also introduced strict regulations on gambling, prohibiting gambling with user tender and sub-only competitions, and ensuring compliance with local gambling laws.
New Categories
In a stream, Kick CEO Eddie announced the new categories that should help to monitor the high-risk content in the Just Chatting category, which often led to scandals before.
“We’re going to make sure every person in the Chat Roulette and IRL category [has] an active moderator there ready to turn the stream off in case things get out of control,”
Kick CEO Eddie announces a new IRL category launching tomorrow with separate guidelines for high-risk streams and speaks on Kick not trying to become Twitch 2.0 pic.twitter.com/B4eUd3NSZG
— Kick Clips (@kick_clips) June 22, 2024
Along with the updated community guidelines, the new categories IRL and Chat Roulette are Kicks take on making their platform more secure for viewers and streamers. In the best case, the changes lead to a more respectful and dynamic streaming environment. We'll have to see how the changes play out... After all, Kick doesn't have the best reputation as a platform, especially after recent events.